Gold Medal ‘DLR An Exercise in Sustainability’ Large garden category 2018

Designed by Nicola Haines and Ruairí Ó Dúlaing of DLR Parks, Foreman Neill Molloy DLR. This garden highlighted the challenge for parks to balance protection of the environment with a human need for outside space. Fernhill was recently acquired by DLRCC and provides much-needed parkland for the local community. The park includes a unique collection of spring flowering ericaceous plants and is teeming with wildlife. DLRCC has a rigorous sustainability plan for the garden which keeps areas protected from disturbance, while offering alternative spaces for visitors to engage with this special place. The show garden was an interpretation of the sustainability aims for Fernhill.

A reclaimed birch-clad wall created a divide between protected and active parts of the garden. Breaks in the wall encouraged glimpses into the protected landscape. The wall broke down to reveal a woodland playground, half in, half out of the protected environment and a community garden, complete with wheelchair accessible raised bed.